Pineapple fruits are known to have about 150 to 200 flowers which open acropetally in batches of 2 to 15 flowers a day. Generally, the flowering period for each fruit is completed in about 21 days. Because the open flowers serve as the main entrance points for many of the microorganisms causing pineapple fruit diseases, the pineapple plant becomes more disease prone as flowering proceeds.
Consequently, efforts have been directed towards developing pineapple varieties having closed flowers, which are more resistant to pineapple fruit diseases. To date, the plant growth regulator ethrel (2-chloroethyl phosphoric acid) is the only generally known compound for preventing pineapple flowers from opening. During decomposition, ethrel releases ethylene, a growth regulator that occurs naturally in most plants.
Unfortunately, in order to be used most effectively, ethrel must be applied every other day during the flowering period, for a total of about 10 applications. Thus, a method that is more effective and less costly has been desired.
The present invention pertains to a method which meets these criteria, and which uses certain surfactants described more particularly below.
At this point, it may be noted that certain surfactants have been reported as being effective abortive agents for the flower buds of Easter lilies. (See, B. Tjia, "Surfactants Removes Flower Buds from Lilium Longiflorum", Hort Science 11(3): (1976) pp. 199-200; and A. N. Roberts and L. H. Fuchigami, "New Lily Deflowering Treatment Shows Promise", Flor. Rev. 151: 25-26 (1972). In addition, the surfactant Prune S, which is commercially available from KAO Food Corporation, Japan, has recently been reported to be an effective chemical flower pruner for peanut plants. However, the prior art does not suggest that any of the surfactants or methods of the present invention described herein may be used to effectively and efficiently inhibit the opening of pineapple flowers.